edinburgh castle – Michael Rappa

July 6, 2014: I awoke on my final day in Scotland, took one final look at the garden outside my window, and then headed downstairs to check out of my room. The train back to London would not be leaving until the late afternoon, so we had one free day left to spend in the city, and our hosts were kind enough to store our luggage in a room in the guest house after checkout so that we could enjoy the day without dragging around suitcases.

I chose to spend my final day visiting Edinburgh Castle and the Old Town, so after breakfast I headed outside and began the long walk to the castle. Between the distance and stopping for photos, it probably took me about an hour to get there. Here are some photos I snapped along the way.

Finally, I reached Edinburgh Castle and presented my ticket, which I had purchased online ahead of time and printed out. The castle did not disappoint–gorgeous architecture and stunning views of the city below. Some highlights of the castle itself were the 12th-century St. Margaret’s Chapel (the oldest surviving building in Edinburgh), the Great Hall (featuring a musical performance by a minstrel), the prison barracks, the Scottish War Memorial (in spite of some dude disrespectfully allowing his children to climb all over the lion statue as if they were in a playground), a touching little dog cemetery, and exhibits depicting medieval castle life.

Looking Toward Calton Hill, which I had been standing on the previous evening.

Edinburgh, Scotland: View from Edinburgh Castle

St. Margaret’s Chapel

Great Hall

Scottish War Memorial

Great Hall

After leaving the castle I made my into the Old Town to do some shopping, soak in the festive atmosphere, and eat a late lunch. I found a little hole-in-the-wall joint serving doener kebabs, which was perfect, as it has become a tradition to eat at least one doener kebab on every Eurotrip since I had my first one in Vienna back in 2007.

Here are a couple of photos from my walk in the city, including one shot of a woman dressed in a stormtrooper uniform—never expected to see that in Scotland. 🙂

These are not the droids you’re looking for.

I wanted to do a tour of Mary King’s Close, but there wasn’t enough time, so I meandered about the Old Town for a while longer (stocking up on various kinds of shortbread cookies for the wife) before making my way back to the guest house to grab my luggage and catch the bus to the train station, where I boarded a train for the roughly 5-hour ride back to London. The train arrived late in the evening, probably around 9:30. I said my goodbyes to George, who was a great guide, and gave him a good tip. I then headed back to the same Cartwright Gardens apartment building in which I had stayed during my first week in London.

However, checking back in to my flat turned out to be a 45-minute ordeal. I hauled my luggage up two flights of stairs, went to open my room, and there were people already in there–they had double-booked it. Luckily, I heard voices on the other side of the door before I tried to open it. By the time they sorted my room and provided me with everything they kept forgetting, I had run up and down two or three flights of stairs five times. I ended up in the same 3rd-floor room I had occupied during the previous week, which I liked better than the 2nd-floor room they initially tried to give me anyway, and the familiarity made me feel as if I was arriving home, so all was well that ended well.

After unpacking I collapsed into bed following nearly a week of getting very little sleep. I didn’t have definitive plans for the next day until the evening, when I would be heading to the theater district to see a show, so I decided to sleep in and not set a wakeup call. The rest of the week was mostly booked solid, so tomorrow would be a lazy day.

View more of my photos from Scotland.

July 5, 2014: After returning from the Scottish Highlands I took a brief break before heading back out into the city. On the recommendation of my guide George, I decided to take a sunset hike up to Calton Hill, which offers breathtaking views of Edinburgh. But first I stopped for dinner at a fish & chips place, where I tried a fried cheeseburger, which was basically a cheeseburger deep-fried in batter like you would do with chicken. It seems that this type of frying is quite popular in Edinburgh, as there were many similar items on the menu, including deep-fried pizza, though I didn’t get a chance to try that.

Once I finished shoving that deep-fried decadence down my gullet, I continued on up to Calton Hill. Here are some photos I took along the way (click on any photo to view a larger version in a gallery).

Edinburgh, Scotland

I arrived shortly before sunset, which is around 10:30 p.m. that time of year, and was immediately grateful for George’s advice—the views were indeed spectacular. I would not have time on this trip to climb Arthur’s Seat, the large hill that looms over the city, so this was the next best thing. I stayed well into the night, so the following photos run the gamut from sunset to night shots. In addition to photos of the Calton Hill monuments, some of the wider shots showcase the picturesque cityscape, including Edinburgh Castle perched high on its hill, while shots from the other side of Calton Hill feature the sunset over the Firth of Forth.

At one point I climbed up onto the Greek-looking structure visible in a couple of the photos, known as the National Monument, an unfinished memorial to soldiers and sailors from the Napoleonic Wars that now appears to be a place for young people to hang out. The climb onto the monument was much harder that it looks—I actually needed a hand from one of the guys already up there, who was kind enough to help me up. Only after getting to the top did I realize that at some point I would have to make the long jump back down. 🙂

Eventually it was time to make the long walk back to my room. I arrived around midnight and got to bed as quickly as possible after packing my bags. In the morning I would be checking out of the guest house and then spending the day at Edinburgh Castle before catching the train back to London.

So, do I recommend a visit to Calton Hill? Absolutely! It’s well worth your time.

View more of my photos from Scotland.

Tag: edinburgh castle

Eurotrip 2014, Part 10: Edinburgh Castle

Eurotrip 2014, Part 9: Sunset on Calton Hill